Chapter 14

Naruto tried to stand up but it felt so laborious after the talking down to Zabuza gave him. He fell down at every point he tried to get to his feet. Everything Zabuza shouted at Naruto felt like a deathblow to his soul. He couldn’t tell what reality was anymore. The ninja standing before him felt like even greater a giant than he already was. Zabuza towered over Naruto as the boy clutched at what little sense there was left in his world.

That coldheartedness is…? He thought. His way of making sacrifices for others? Using others as tools…it’s his way of being selfless?

It felt so warped but also so true at the same time. A new logic came alive into Naruto’s mind. One that dethroned his previous line of thinking.

He broke Haku and used her for his country…Naruto thought. To procure peace for the next generation. That’s…that's kindness. Not evil.

Naruto knew at that moment he had it all wrong. He thought selfless people were those who smiled all the time and shook hands with everyone they came across. Those that gave the clothes off their back for anyone who asked. The one who never frowned and said that everyone had a purpose to live, no matter how weak they may appear. That was the kind of selflessness that Naruto envisioned would make everyone like him. And he was wrong.

That’s just the appearance of morality. Naruto realized. Just the appearance of selflessness. People like that…

He squinted hard.

People like me…! Naruto thought. They accomplish nothing because they sacrifice nothing. They just appear moral…they appear spotless…because they’re unwilling to dirty their hands to achieve anything of substance…

Zabuza looked down at Naruto, glaring with a newfound hatred. He was no longer glaring at him because he was an enemy. He glared at Naruto because Zabuza saw Naruto as he truly was: a pathetic child who had never been told the harsh realities of the world.

As his entire body shook with panic at realizing that he was weak, a deep seated self hatred buried within Naruto. It was the kind of feeling that wished he had never been born. How he took and took without giving anything back. He saw himself as Zabuza did: a leech. Too pathetic and small to be of real value while real men and women fought hard to protect what they had.

He realized Kakashi was the same as Zabuza. The reason Kakashi was harsh and cold was that there was no other way to exist as a shinobi. One had to be cruel and powerful to survive and protect their nations. In the same way Zabuza used Haku to defend the Land of Water, Kakashi used Naruto and his team to gain prosperity for the Land of Fire. At one point he thought these men were just cruel and sought strength for the sheer reason they wanted to be powerful. Now he understood why they sought power.

The strong don’t just win. Naruto thought. They’re also the only ones who matter. If one is not strong then whether they are good or evil doesn’t matter either. Because…strength and power are means to an end to achieving those goals. Those who pursue power are the only good people because those like me are too scared to dirty our hands because…because we don’t care about anything that deeply.

Naruto then remembered when he turned his back on Haku, allowing her to kill him. He now clutched the pavement of the bridge with newfound strength, wishing to squeeze the life out of both Haku and himself in that moment. Naruto looked back on that moment in a different light.

I was being selfish in doing that! Naruto thought. I was being selfish to my village! I was being selfish because I swore to protect my village and become Hokage, only to let an enemy get a finishing blow! If I’m to be the leader of the Leaf Village…I must first be a soldier…and before that I must make sacrifices to protect the next generation…so that they may know peace…

He then tightened his grip.

And now I know what one must do to become acknowledged…He thought. They must earn their keep. And must be willing to prove they are strong and worthy of kindness.

“Th-Thank you,” Naruto said.

“Huh?” Zabuza asked.

Naruto slowly staggered to his feet, not collapsing onto the pavement of the bridge like he did a few seconds ago. His chakra was no longer the blue liquid it used to be. It evaporated back into wind that circulated around his body faster than ever before. Naruto’s ideals had returned to him stronger than ever. His tears began to dry up.

“Your words…” he said. “They cut deeper than any blade. While I fought Haku…my heart was breaking in two. Like Haku…I was always too soft and too kind. I felt pain and sorrow and now…”

Naruto began tightening his grip further.

“Now I understand it was selfish of me to feel those things!” he shouted. “I felt content that you’ve shown me why I’ve been so conflicted this entire mission!”

He glared at the older ninja.

“It’s because I was thinking only of myself!” Naruto said. “I’ve been thinking only of how I could become Hokage while also keeping my sense of right and wrong correct! I knew that I couldn’t do it but you…”

A faint expression of gratitude crossed Naruto’s face while Zabuza looked on in confusion.

“You showed me that in order to protect one’s people,” he said. “In order to be recognized as someone of value to my village…I need to be willing to sacrifice even my own morality for them!”

He wiped his tears away.

“Just as you sacrificed your morality for your people,” Naruto said. “I thought it was cruel to use Haku as a tool…heck, I thought it was cruel of Kakashi to treat me as one…but a tool is what I have to be in order to be valuable to the world. If one is not a tool…they are trash to be discarded and have no value. I’ll prove to my village I’m of exceeding value…as a ninja who can defeat anybody! Even you!”

Zabuza then laughed.

“Really, kid?” he chuckled. “You think you can defeat me? Don’t fool yourself. I took pity on you because you bothered me with your fancy sounding words and had so little chakra to work with…but now you’re making me angry to think I’d fall for some empty bluff.”

That was when panic struck Naruto. His chakra layering began to condense into liquid as he realized who he was talking to. There was no way that he could take on Momochi Zabuza. Naruto could bluster all he wanted and have the determination to fight to the death but that’s only what it would accomplish. His death.

Naruto looked around to see that Sasuke was in too much pain, Sakura was dead, Hinata was completely defeated spiritually and Kakashi had somehow lost most of his chakra. Naruto seemed the most qualified candidate to defeat Zabuza. And he now realized that was not a good thing. He began thinking of any strategy or jutsu he had that could defeat Zabuza before a voice whispered into his ear.

Now is the time, Naruto. He said.

Naruto could see himself standing in front of the gated bars that prevented the monster from getting out. The water was up to his ankles as usual and the atmosphere was overbearing. Naruto looked up to see the great yellow eyes glowing in the darkness and boring into his soul.

You know you cannot defeat Zabuza without my assistance. He spoke into his mind. Unlock my power…or you shall die along with all your comrades.

Naruto glared up at the beast, despite understanding everything he said to be the truth and not a lie.

You said it yourself. The monster said. Either you shall sacrifice your morality to prove yourself worthy of your village’s recognition…or you will be discarded as a broken tool. Will you choose to be a good tool?

“I don’t know…” he answered. “I don’t know if I can do it…”

If you do not…He said.

“I know!” Naruto said. “I know! I just…I just don’t want to…to lose who I am…with so much power…

He then hardened his expression.

“But…” Naruto said. “If I’m unwilling to lose myself, I’ll prove to be selfish…I want to be selfless, truly selfless…just as Zabuza is…and be willing to forsake my morality…if it means the safety of my comrades and my people!”

He glared at the demon.

“I wasn’t afraid of losing my morality for my people’s sake at the cost of destroying them…” Naruto said. “Only for my own sake. What’s the point of innocence and morality if one cannot protect those they care for?!”

In the outward world, Naruto glared at Zabuza.

“Right,” Naruto said. “Which is why I’ll need chakra…and I know exactly where to get it.”

Naruto focused, nearing the part of his mind where the monster within him laid. As he stared up at the glowing eyes that pierced the dark, he neared the beast. Naruto moved his hand in between the bars that held the monster back. Once his arm reached into the cage he could feel the snout of a very large dog. He was careful to only graze the snout of the beast.

“But…” he said. “I’ll be careful…to only take as much as I need.”

At first, he felt fur in the outer world before he felt a rush of energy surge through him from a slight touch. The sense of power was overwhelming. It was as though he had the speed of lightning and the strength of an earthquake drilled into him in a single moment. It felt so freeing to have this much power enter into him.

It immediately caused a physical reaction. Naruto jumped in midair before he realized what he was doing. He wondered when he had sprung himself up before realizing he didn’t. The power Naruto had absorbed jettisoned him automatically.

Once he landed back onto the pavement, Zabuza staggered back in shock. Black wind poured from his body that continued repelling the older ninja. The dark mist-like substance pulsed around Naruto. When the dark wind blew across the pavement of the bridge, the concrete looked as dried as a sunburnt plant before blowing away as ash. The rush of power Naruto was experiencing was perfectly cathartic. All tiredness or need for caution left him. He had grown. Literally.

He was taller than before and his body was far bulkier. He was as tall as Zabuza. Muscle and tougher skin had replaced his formerly weaker flesh. It was like he had an all consuming growth spurt in a single moment. Naruto looked down to find the surface of his skin was now a dark gray, almost like charcoal soot. For some reason he could tell it was sturdier and more durable than human flesh.

He was confused before feeling pain in his jaws. Naruto began screaming in agony before feeling as though something was being pushed out of his mouth. It took him a second before he realized sharp teeth had replaced his human ones.

The same continued to happen to his fingers, the digits stretching as though someone were pulling on them with all the force in the world. His nails sharpened and elongated into something almost like claws. Naruto’s blond hair grew as well. But that was nothing compared to the pain he felt behind his waist.

From the lowest end of his spinal cord, Naruto could feel something growing out of him. He screamed in pain as it was driven out of his body. Despite the pain, however, he could feel himself control the new prehensile growth. Naruto held the appendage in front of him to examine it. In front of him was a tail as black as night and as thick around as two fingers held together. It was shaped like a very thin fox tail but it was covered not with fur, more like something akin to hard stone.

And then came the stream of what he could only call memories not his own. Visions of events and people he had never seen before rocketed his world. At first they appeared only out of the corner of his vision but they began creeping out of his peripheral sight until it was all around him. His world was consumed by history not his own.

Explosions of weapons Naruto had never seen before boomed in front of him as well as the deaths of thousands. Men of great strength and valor shook hands with one another as well as drew maps. The faces of ordinary people crowding around him screamed in fear. The birth, youth, elder age and death of what looked like hundreds of thousands played out simultaneously.

The creation and destruction of technology that was both harmful and benevolent ran past him in the blink of an eye. The ordinary and important events of history played out literally sooner than Naruto could blink. It was both extraordinary and painful to witness, like staring at the sun to glimpse at its shining beauty. Painful, yet attractive.

The images danced in the background of his world, like television blaring but the entire horizon was his screen. The sky was filled with things Naruto never wished to know, the very events hurting him to see. Naruto wanted to close his eyes but he was too spellbound. Rather than avert his gaze, he reached out a hand and touched the moving image of something that vaguely interested him.

When he reached back he found in his palm to be an embryo, the umbilical cord still attached to the lifeform. It disappeared and reappeared in his grasp like the static image of a television. Just as he groaned in confusion the embryo grew into a full-size baby before becoming a toddler and then teenager.

After the image disappeared and reappeared in colored fragments it sprouted into a mature adult man before crumbling into an elderly man with a cane to support him. The senior citizen then collapsed onto the ground and breathed his last before slowly fading from existence. Naruto began screaming before looking in terror as the images flashed in front of him.

As he watched, a common theme cemented his reality: cycles begin and end. All those who were great and powerful eventually came to an end. Life first started out weak and struggled to develop before reaching their peak and slowly crumbling. Then they ended, forgotten by the winds of time, their power as fleeting and nonexistent after their death as before they were born. This was the fate of everyone and all nations and technologies were the same. The cycle of birth and death ceased for no one.

What…? Naruto asked. What is all this?

The fate of mankind you can escape. The monster within him cried. I will help you achieve a power never before seen. That which mankind can achieve on their own is fleeting because they are fleeting.

Naruto looked up at the sky beyond him to find the static-like image blaring against the blue sky was that of many people being shot down in some great war.

Everything that man has sought to achieve is something that lasts forever. The monster said. But no man can achieve that…only I can. What you are seeing is the endless stream of time which man has futilely but constantly tried to escape. And you, Naruto, escape that powerless, fleeting reality every time you use my power.

The black mist around him began to stop blowing like wind before emanating around him like a layer of chakra. Naruto looked around him to see about three feet of the black substance moving around him. It looked almost like a flame of some sort but also it was more graceful. Like flowing water. Then Naruto recognized it.

Yin chakra! He thought. The chakra formed from evil! It’s outside the five basic chakra natures due to it coming not from mere emotions–but pure evil intention itself! It doesn’t come from emotion as normal chakra does–but from the spirit itself. No one produces this chakra unless they have sold themselves for the sheer purpose of malice itself! It doesn’t have normal enhancing properties like other chakra natures! Yin chakra has the ability to distort reality itself…it’s even been said to create new anything from nothingness in large enough quantities!

He looked down at the transformation with some amount of regret.

No wonder I didn’t want to use that demon’s power! Naruto said. While it was inside me, I could sense it was rotten!

However, when Naruto looked back at his opponent, Zabuza was even more scared than Naruto was. He was staggering backward, his eyes wide in horror. Zabuza’s five feet of lightning chakra quickly turned to blue water. As Naruto looked on, he watched Zabuza’s life flash before him.

Zabuza’s appearance became as water as the chakra surrounding him. He began to blur into multiple different images, like mirages that held no actual matter. Naruto would have confused it for a trick of the light had his youth to his adulthood not been perfectly encapsulated in this vision.

What–? Naruto screamed. What is this?

The life of a mortal. The demon within Naruto said. You see, Naruto, as one who has ascended past the mortal plane and now exists in a gray area between the celestial and the temporal, you can view humans as they truly are–as beings in the constant process of changing. They are not stable creatures…but fluid. Beings like me, like what you can be in this form…we are eternal.

To the right, Naruto saw Zabuza as a small, weak looking child hugging his knees. Snow fell around him and he was cold. Zabuza was afraid he wouldn’t make it as much body heat as he was losing before others surrounded. Naruto saw the projections of other children walk up to him and smile down at him. One girl provided him with water and hot soup that she laid in the snow in front of him. Their mere presence caused Zabuza to perk up and smile.

The image disappeared before another appeared to the opposite side. Naruto saw a little older Zabuza mowing down those same children who had helped him up, slashing their throats with a kunai. The same girl that had given Zabuza soup on that cold snowy day had her face caved in with a punch from the young ninja. After dozens of children lay dead at Zabuza’s feet he was covered with blood, his body more red from their entrails than his fire chakra. Zabuza soon held up the sword he now carried, the Executioner’s Blade somewhat unwieldy in his inexperienced hands.

The image again disappeared only for visions of the Hidden Mist shinobi cleaving through men’s bodies like wet paper. He stood tall over freshly butchered ninja, the sword dripping red. A bloodstained Zabuza then began speaking with other ninja of the Hidden Mist. It was obvious they were having an argument, with many glaring at Zabuza in disapproval. Zabuza looked on with equal disapprovement.

The scene didn’t disappear altogether but rapidly changed with Zabuza staring at a young boy with gray hair and pink eyes. The young boy looked on smugly, smiling over confidently at Zabuza, something that enraged the ninja. From pictures in his history books, Naruto recognized him as Yagura, the fourth Mizukage and called the cruelest leader the Hidden Mist ever had.

The image once again disappeared and Zabuza was now fighting that same Mizukage alongside Haku. Many of the same ninja that surrounded Zabuza in his recent argument were being cut down by Zabuza, with Haku providing support through throwing her senbon needles. In the next vision Yagura was lying dead among various other ninja that sought to defend him.

That vision soon changed to Zabuza and Haku standing behind a beautiful red-haired woman in a blue dress. Naruto recognized this as the Mizukage that Zabuza had reinstated over Yagura once the fourth had been killed. The image of this was projected on Zabuza’s right side while on his left side, Zabuza overlooked village children playing in peace, their parents not far away and happily farming.

This scenic image once again changed to Zabuza looking on in horror to find those same children gaunt with hunger and their parents ingesting green powder through needles. With that scene playing out on Zabuza’s left side, the right side changed to Zabuza once again fighting ninja, this time those sent by Gato. Children lay dead around him as they were young shinobi that had been sent into battle with Zabuza as the only survivor. Multiple images of child ninja dying over and over again on the very same bridge they fought on played out in front of Naruto, the veteran shinobi visibly aging with each subsequent encounter.

The final image Naruto saw of Zabuza was the ninja looking down at the bridge he stood on, pools of blood so thick his feet were submerged in it. The corpses of children were intermingled with those of ninja Gato had sent, the workers of the bridge continuing to work despite the carnage. The bandages that obscured Zabuza’s mouth were unbandaged as he looked on at the ravages of battle with sorrow.

He didn’t look like he had the energy to lift his sword any long, the bloody blade resting on the pavement of the bridge. He had very little chakra left as he had exhausted it in battle and it had turned to blue water chakra. As Naruto looked on at the last projection of Zabuza he saw a man who had too many burdens to count, bereft of joy and idealism. At this point Zabuza merely wanted to die, his purpose of protecting his country a dead dream as he had failed to secure peace once Gato had infiltrated the Land of Water. Through just looking at this projection of light, Naruto could tell Zabuza felt he had completed his life’s purpose once Yagura had been deposed and replaced with the fifth Mizukage. What remained of his life from then on was just maintaining that dream.

Now Zabuza had felt he failed at that dream. That all the hard work he had spent attempting to replace the Hidden Mist’s government so that it would no longer be the Bloody Mist was a foolish endeavor. At this point, Zabuza wished he had died sooner than see his dream become tarnished by a drug lord who spent his life living in lavish palaces and spending his money on high quality liquor and even higher quality prostitutes. To have his noble intentions undone by a lowly criminal was the greatest disgrace to Zabuza’s life. And now, he secretly wished someone would kill him. A quick, painless death so that he would no longer suffer. It was at that point Naruto realized who Zabuza was.

A tool of his shinobi village. He thought. A willing tool but a tool nonetheless. Someone who had moulded their entire identity around fighting for their home. Zabuza…Zabuza was never allowed to have a dream of his own because his village grinded all the individualism and autonomy out of him. Zabuza did to Haku what the Hidden Mist did to him…made him a weapon for war. A weapon…for peace.

The image quickly disappeared before he saw Zabuza standing before him. He was no longer the proud warrior or the dangerous assassin. Zabuza was shaking in terror like a frightened child.

“N-N-No…” he cried in absolute terror. “Y-Y-Yooouuu…so that’s why you were brought here, despite having no chakra. You…you’re a jinchuriki! Just as that monster Yagura was!”

Zabuza was quivering, a sight that Naruto never thought he’d see.

“Monsters like you…” he said. “They don’t belong in this world!”

“What…?” Naruto asked.

“Naruto, no!” Kakashi yelled.

Naruto turned back to see the jonin yelling at him. Kakashi was no longer torturing Haku and instead looking squarely at him. He was looking on in fear.

“You shouldn’t have done that Naruto!” he said. “It’s not the time!”

“What’s not–?” Naruto asked.

He was then overwhelmed by a strong, singular voice.

Kill. The demon inside him said. Slaughter everything in your sight. Show no mercy to your opponent.

Naruto was then overwhelmed by the desire to kill, looking at Zabuza in fear.

“A jinchuriki!” he shouted. “You don’t even know what that is, do you?!”

Naruto wasn’t able to entirely listen. He was having such a hard time trying to resist the urge to destroy. It wasn’t just the idea of fighting Zabuza that was filling his mind. It wanted him to tear everything in front of him to shreds.

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You now rule everything in front of you. The demon’s voice whispered into him. Let nothing stop you from taking ownership of this world that rightfully is your’s and your’s alone. Claim it by asserting supremacy of your power.

The yellow eyes that stared back at Naruto through the darkness roared with silver teeth that gnawed at the bars.

Kill them all! The monster shouted into his mind. Spare nothing, not even the very ground you stand upon!

Naruto was doing his best to physically restrain himself from reaching out and going on a rampage that would kill his own comrades. He looked on at Hinata, Sasuke and Gato with the desire to take their lives just as much as Zabuza. There was no distinction of friend or foe in his mind. Just the desire to annihilate. Naruto had to paw at the pavement with his feet and stomp down to resist the urge to lunge forward and attack indiscriminately.

Only if you defeat Zabuza for me! Naruto shouted back. No one else must die! No one except him!

Forget your feelings to these insects! The demon shouted. You have ascended to a higher life form, Naruto! A grander existence! And they now stand in your way as not only rivals but meals!

Naruto groaned in pain, feeling the evil will of the demon forcing him forward, making him step forward without his consent. Naruto’s resistance was just barely holding him back from doing so. All the while, Zabuza looked on in shock as he continued.

“What am I?” Naruto asked.

“What are you?” Zabuza asked. “What are you? You are the nine-tailed fox, that’s what you are!”

Something in Naruto’s mind suddenly clicked. Certain things he had only vaguely understood and didn’t at all now aligned in his mind with perfect clarity. It all made sense now. The fact no one was allowed to talk to him, the hatred and fear the citizens of the Leaf village held for him, the demon that Naruto had always seen in his nightmares and the attack of the nine-tails fox fifteen years ago. It all made sense.

“Narutoooooooo!” Kakashi cried. “Don’t listen!”

“I…am…” Naruto thought. “The nine-tailed…fox…?”

“Just as inside Yagura the three-tails beast was stored inside of him…” Zabuza said. “The nine-tails was stored inside of you! Each shinobi village has one of the nine demons at their disposal they trap inside the host body of an infant!”

Zabuza’s chakra reddened with fire as he explained, the concept alone making him angry.

“You were not told what was really inside of you, were you Uzumaki brat?” Zabuza asked.

“Naruto…!” Kakashi cried. “He’s tricking you, nothing else!”

“Jinchuriki normally have abysmally low chakra outputs during their early years,” Zabuza went on. “Just like you. Yagura was the same way but became a mighty warrior through controlling his tailed beast.”

It all made sense to Naruto now. Everything Zabuza was shouting at him made sense. Even Kakashi trying to get him to not listen confirmed this as it wouldn’t be something the jonin would want Naruto to recognize.

“Jinchuriki are those that have these devils implanted within them!” Zabuza said. “Those cursed enough to have a tailed beast within them are feared by the village for their immense power, knowing that in anger they could kill thousands with no effort! Yet the shinobi villages kept them anyway as their battle power was too tempting to ignore…and the tailed beast the Leaf had was the nine-tails while the Mist had the three-tails.”

Zabuza held his sword at Naruto with renewed vigor.

“I hated jinchuriki,” he said. “They’re driven mad by their incredible power…they go mad from experiencing the godhood they think they’ve achieved. When in reality all they’ve done is sell themselves to the devils that inhabit them! Yagura…I always thought he became the demon he was through the three-tails’ influence on him!”

Zabuza’s chakra layering was completely dyed red, all of it transformed into fire. Naruto couldn’t help but lose what little control he once had slip. Naruto’s legs and back began to bend in a lunging position as he readied to attack the ninja in front of him. He felt the demon within him win in the battle between their two wills.

“I will cleanse this world of the filth of demons!” Zabuza said. “Die, monster!”

Zabuza ran toward Naruto, his blade held to his side as he rushed at him. The newly transformed ninja lost control over himself as he felt his life threatened. The urge to kill overrode every other desire within Naruto. However, just as Zabuza swung his blade at the ninja, he felt no need to side-step it.

It was odd that under the demon’s influence he didn’t feel the urge to dodge life-threatening attacks but he felt it was above it. When he gave into the demon’s influence it wasn’t just hunger Naruto felt. He viewed Zabuza as an insect in comparison to him, a being who was given to the changes of time in comparison to someone like him who was above it. With this power he had transcended human limitations and could no longer be called human. What was a simple ninja to a being like him?

When Zabuza slashed at Naruto’s right shoulder with all his might, the sword passed right through him. The Demon of the Hidden Mist’s eyes went wide with horror as the blade phased through Naruto like a ghost. It was as though he was incorporeal, the Executioner’s Blade appearing next to his left hip as it cleaved through nothing. Zabuza gasped in shock before staggering in fear, his chakra layering condensing into water and turning blue.

“Your blade is too unimportant,” he said. Naruto didn’t know who was speaking. Himself or the demon. It felt as though there was no difference. “A toy like that has no place being used on a god.”

For what felt like the first time in his life, Naruto was filled with confidence and power. He was no longer the scared child who ran and hid when others called him names or rejected him. He was above humanity. He was above those who had called him names. Naruto was no longer held back by the fetters of ostracization and hatred of others. He had ascended. And it felt so good.

“Im-” he thought. “Impossible-”

He then sprung forward and tackled Zabuza to the ground before biting into him. At first Naruto thought that he wouldn’t be able to penetrate Zabuza’s five feet of chakra but found he liked crunching his fangs into the ninja’s chakra. He loved the taste of Zabuza’s chakra, the water chakra having a serene and delicate taste to it.

Naruto couldn’t describe the way chakra tasted in terms of food. It didn’t remind him of the food he had eaten. Only emotions he had experienced before. Every bite tasted similar to how Naruto felt when he was a child and too weak to compete with his peers. Just as the cadets were stronger than him at such a young age, Zabuza knew that he was outmatched compared to a newly transformed Naruto. Inferiority and the loss of hope due to being outmatched overwhelmed his senses the more he consumed. Pinned down and with his chakra quickly being gnawed away at, Zabuza was helpless under Naruto’s grasp.

The water chakra began degrading into black ash as he bit into it. With every bite it crumbled and degraded into dust-like particles before swallowing it. Naruto realized that the yin chakra surrounding him was digesting Zabuza’s chakra, like stomach acid did to a consumed morsel. And it tasted so refreshing. Naruto had never experienced a sensation like the eating of chakra. It was both nourishing and exhilarating. With each bite he could feel the strengthening of his own spirit.

Soon after devouring the chakra itself, Naruto bit into the ninja’s flesh. Zabuza screamed in pain as Naruto tasted blood and meat. It was comparatively not as ecstatic or sensational but the crunching of bones and feel of smooth, soft flesh between his teeth and against his tongue was delicious. Soon after eating almost all of Zabuza’s chakra he began feasting on his flesh. Chunks of the ninja’s body greater than the size of basketballs disappeared into his wide jaws.

With digesting and swallowing virtually all of Zabuza’s chakra, Naruto’s own chakra field became wider and wider. After eating it, the water chakra he absorbed was converted into black yin chakra that expanded further and further until it was nearly eight feet in length. Naruto felt an incredible amount of energy surge through him.

Zabuza feebly attempted to swing his sword at Naruto but this was futile. As he attempted to raise it with a single arm, Naruto stamped down on it with his left hand and shattered the Executioner’s Blade. It lay in several pieces on the blackened pavement where Naruto pinned down Zabuza, continuing to devour his chakra and flesh.

Who cares about becoming Hokage when I can do this?! Naruto thought. Wait until the village sees what I can do now!

He was lost in the process of killing and eating, engrossed in the act. It felt so cathartic to Naruto to so easily be on the winning side of the battle. Normally he’d have to outthink and outguess what his opponent would attempt but now he was just dominating his enemy. It took no effort.

He was so lost in the act that he didn’t notice as Zabuza was performing hand seals beneath him. Naruto had already devoured most of Zabuza’s upper body and midsection so he was now eating his shoulders. He noticed too late when Zabuza had performed the jutsu.

“Mind Poison Bomb no Jutsu!” he shouted.

Naruto looked down to see that the final hand seal he’d performed was a corrupted mi hand seal. What little of Zabuza’s chakra remained separated from him, condensed into a circular transformation and formed into a small, blue sphere in his hands. The sphere was decorated with colorful buttons and a small green stem at the end.

With a final tora hand seal from Zabuza it levitated up a few inches until striking Naruto in the chest and before floating into his chakra field. He was confused at first, unsure of what to make of the attack before it exploded into a purple mist. Naruto was blown off Zabuza and his back crashed into the blackened pavement of the bridge. While the enemy ninja lay coughing in a pool of his own blood and half his flesh was missing, Naruto screamed in panic as his chakra field was filled with purple particles.

He couldn’t think clearly anymore. All his bravado and confidence was gone. The idea of being a god amongst men melted away as Naruto’s mind was thrown into utter chaos. Left and right lost all meaning as did up and down. He tried lifting himself up but in his confused state Naruto felt he was burying himself in the ground.

As he tried to stand up, he began to fear being buried alive. Darkness consumed his world as the light from above quickly vanished. The terror of being trapped on all sides and submerged in a hole with no escape route made him roar in terror. However, when Naruto felt himself scream in panic he couldn’t hear his own voice. It sounded like his guttural shouts were emitted to his far left rather than out of his own body.

He staggered backwards in confusion but when he did so, Naruto almost felt like he was flying. He was afraid that if he continued racing away from Zabuza he would be ejected into the air and never come back down. Naruto staggered to his right side which only made him feel like he was spiraling through the air at a hundred miles an hour with no control. He was bulleting straight into the stratosphere the more he walked.

He attempted to stand still to counter these effects but that was almost as bad. While initially standing still was more calming than moving, Naruto felt like he was vulnerable standing still. When not moving, he thought he could sense invisible enemies swarming him. While Naruto couldn’t see them, he felt a presence around him he was unsure of. He swatted wildly at the air around him to fend off these attackers but it did nothing to relieve him of the panic. With no clear target to strike at, even in his confused state, Naruto knew he had no way of defending himself.

And that wasn’t even describing what was happening to his chakra. The black yin surrounding him was going out of control. The purple particles within his chakra layer were not just circulating but literally drilling into spiral shapes. Whatever wild direction the violet mist went, Naruto’s black chakra was carried with it.

It was almost as though his layer of black chakra was a plastic bag that the purple substance couldn’t escape from. However, rather than being a passive liquid like in a normal plastic container, it was like holding a typhoon within it. The purple matter couldn’t escape to release Naruto from this disruption and so whirred about wildly as a result. And it was causing his own chakra to attack him.

His black yin chakra beat against his body in waves. He screamed as his own chakra battered against his skin as it tore his clothes and drew blood. Naruto’s dark gray flesh opened to bleed a strange golden-yellow blood that pooled on the ground beneath him. It was the most agonizing thing, like having sand poured directly beneath his skin before his flesh was sewn over it.

Unable to deal with the pain, Naruto fell to the ground in a pool of his own golden blood. Once he did he felt he was falling into water. Naruto squirmed around in the apparent liquid to no avail, feeling he would drown. Despite his panicked state, he knew that his body was weakening from his own chakra attacking him.

At this stage I’ll die! He shouted.

You fool…The demon within him said. You allowed yourself to be caught by this mere mortal’s genjutsu and now will die unless I intervene. But in order to do that I’ll be forced to feed you my chakra…and I cannot do that while you and I are merged in this state.

Naruto looked up to see the bright yellow eyes staring down at him. Only he was not looking at him within the weird mental plane as the demon was held inside him. The bright yellow eyes were in the sky above Naruto, right behind all the flashing events of history. The eyes glared in anger, knowing that the young ninja had disappointed the monster.

In this way, Naruto felt those were not just the monster’s eyes, but his own. Soon after they appeared, Naruto could see himself thrashing in pain on the pavement of the bridge. He could also see Zabuza dying in his own blood, Kakashi staring on in horror with a pained Haku, Sakura’s corpse, a thrashing Sasuke and a weeping Hinata. Naruto didn’t just have a bird's eye view of the bridge they stood atop but of the village near it.

He could even see the water surrounding the bridge for what looked like miles on end. It even included moving boats. If Naruto focused he thought he could see men sailing towards a nearby island. He tried to gain a better visual before the eyes above faded.

Once the yellow eyes disappeared, Naruto could feel himself demorph into his human appearance. His tail retracted back into his body while the stout layer of thick, dark substance withdrew back into his skin to be replaced by pale flesh. His hair returned to normal while the black yin chakra surrounding him vanished. His fingers and teeth shrank back to normal human body parts. Soon Naruto was no longer the higher being the demon inside turned him into. He was now just Naruto.

Still, despite all the appendages and chakra withdrawing back into him, Naruto could feel its influence not completely disappear. He could feel chakra that was absorbed back into his body spread throughout the inside of him. It was almost like water that had been poured into a tunnel wash through the underground.

It was a rejuvenating feeling as Naruto felt refreshed after being wounded so much. He looked down to see his injuries healing before his eyes, the open wounds in his flesh sewing up in a flash. Blood stopped pouring and his mind began to clear. Naruto felt a rush of something that he momentarily realized was chakra to find his panic-induced state was alleviated. He stood up, looking down to find his body and mind were in perfect condition.

I will not always be so kind as to lend you my chakra in emergencies. He said. But in your transformed state, I would have surely been jeopardized as we share a body when merged. Remember this and be more careful to not overplay your hand, brat.

The voice disappeared as Naruto felt he had to take in his surroundings again. The sensation of transcending normal human limitations no longer was present within. He felt like a normal human. This reality was made painfully clear as the mere six inches of chakra layering appeared around Naruto. The chakra was blue liquid as seeing Zabuza’s past, his mistreatment of Haku and Sakura’s death flooded into him. The high of godhood was over.

For just once in my life I felt completely above my problems. Naruto thought. I didn’t need friendship, recognition or even food and water. I was complete without others. Now…now I wish I didn’t have to let it go. Who needs to be Hokage if you’re an immortal being?

This contemplation had to wait as he saw Kakashi walking up to him. Naruto was frightened to see him carrying Haku with him. Her arms were tied behind her back as Kakashi held her wrists and she looked very distressed. She quietly glared at Naruto, her expression a mix of anger and stoic sorrow.

She was trapped in the fetters made of Kakashi lightning chakra that the jonin had used on Naruto before the chunin exam. Those restraints greatly inhibited the regeneration of chakra so when put on a ninja while not having their chakra layering up, they were helpless. Naruto wanted to protest Haku’s capture but hesitated when he saw Kakashi glare at him. However, using this, Kakashi had less than two feet of lightning chakra surrounding him. He would have mentioned something but a voice whispered into his ear.

Kill. The demon’s voice said. Destroy things underlings.

Well they are just mere mortals. Naruto thought.

He then was terrified that he actually thought that.

What am I thinking?! He shouted at himself.

“I see you’ve unlocked the nine-tails within you,” Kakashi said bitterly. “You could have gone on a rampage had Zabuza not used the Mind Poison Bomb on you. However…”

He looked past him at Zabuza dying while lying in his own blood.

“I am glad to see you were able to make use of your first transformation,” Kakashi said. “To be honest…we didn’t plan on you activating the nine-tails so early on.”

“Yeah,” Naruto said. “What was that technique he used? I’ve never heard of that jutsu before.”

Destroy them. It spoke louder.

I would love to. Naruto thought in response.

He then realized how awful an idea that was.

How could I think that about my sensei?! He thought.

“That jutsu doesn’t use up that much chakra,” he said. “And it’s a powerful genjutsu technique. But it’s situational. It converts the emotions of panic a ninja is experiencing into chakra. The bomb is set off and it starts having a hallucinogenic effect on the user that causes their senses to become completely disoriented. If the user was panicking and fearful enough, their own chakra would start attacking them. The only reason you survived is because the nine-tails didn’t want itself to be hurt.”

“Sounds powerful,” Naruto replied.

Kill. The demon shouted. Kill now!

I know I should. I’m just thinking of the right time- Naruto began thinking. No, wait! That’s horrible!

“Again, it’s too situational to rely upon,” Kakashi admitted. “The greater your panic, the stronger the effects on the opponent since it’s your emotions that are transferred into the opponent. To be very effective, seasoned shinobi would only be very panicked in a do-or-die situation where they seemingly have no hope. And for them to rely upon a stasis of extreme desperation is an inconsistent weapon at best. Zabuza probably had prepared that jutsu as an emergency weapon.”

Naruto looked at Haku, the ninja visibly miserable.

“Kakashi-sensei…” he said. “Now that Zabuza is dead…can’t…can’t you release Haku?”

Kakashi shook his head.

“She is a prisoner that will now hold a special purpose for us,” he said. “The secrets of the Yuki clan’s ice chakra will be ours. For the sake of the Leaf Village, we will have her.”

He eyed Haku with pity, meeting her gaze. She looked as though Naruto betrayed her. However, there was some hope in her eyes now that Naruto was defending her. It was the guilt she instilled in him that gave him a little boldness.

“Kakashi-sensei,” he said. “With all due respect…I don’t think that the Hidden Mist would like this. Especially since Zabuza is no longer a threat. I-I believe the Hidden Mist would find this–”

“We do this all the time, Naruto,” Kakashi said. “The Hidden Mist did this plenty under Yagura’s reign.”

“R-Really?” Naruto asked in shock.

“This is typical ninja protocol,” Kakashi said.

His eyes widened as tears stung them.

Kill Kakashi. It said. All he is doing is tormenting you. Look at how he looks down on you and didn’t promote you to a full jonin while he did to Sasuke. How unfair is that?

Naruto had to forcibly block the wave of influence the demon had over him. He prepared himself to not follow the negative line of thinking the monster was feeding him. However, it was so easy to agree with its destructive nature. Naruto forced himself to shift back to what Kakashi said. It reminded him of the evils Jiraiya spoke of.

Just like the textbooks Jiraiya sensei gave me. Naruto thought. The Hidden Leaf Village really is–dark…

“Well…” he said. “But-”

“Shut up and obey orders,” Kakashi said. “Do what Zabuza told you.”

“Uh?” Naruto gasped, trying not to cry.

“I heard that whole spiel he gave you,” he said. “I was on the sidelines, not knowing what to do as I’d used up so much chakra. However…what he said was right. Sacrifice your morality for your nation. Give up your innocence to protect and prosper the people who gave you life. It’s what I did.”

“But-” Naruto said.

“Or be a selfish leech!” Kakashi yelled at him. “See how far it gets you!”

The young ninja cowered at his harsh voice, the veteran shinobi’s anger peaking as his lightning chakra sparked with fierce intensity.

I want revenge on him. Naruto thought. I wish to kill Kakashi-sensei. Make him pay for what he’s said to me.

Naruto then winced in pain, hating the fact the demon within him didn’t even have to say anything for Naruto to think that.

“Naruto,” Kakashi said as though it were a slur. “Do you really think you can become Hokage with such a weak mindset? You think you can attain the highest rank of ninja as an idealistic child? You thought you could become a ninja of some worth without sacrifice?”

“N-No-” Naruto said. “B-But I-I…I was willing to sacrifice myself! You know…be brave, work hard…! Be…be a ninja…”

The tears began flowing down his face again.

“That everyone loves and respects,” Naruto said.

“And that means nothing if you aren’t willing to sacrifice others,” Kakashi said. “You think one lone ninja can prosper the village and protect it? Get over yourself, Naruto. The Hokage is willing to sacrifice whatever pawns under his command for the village. And you are one of those pawns.”

Naruto had to keep himself from sobbing, his teacher shattering the young ninja’s world. He couldn’t believe his sensei who’d taught him for so many years was acting this way. Naruto had never heard him say something so harsh to him directly. He was doing his best to keep it all together before the demon shouted in his ear again.

I told you to kill him! The demon shouted. Don’t let a lowly being like him insult your honor! You are no one’s pawn, Hokage or not!

“I know,” Naruto said aloud. “You are all my pawns! Hokage or not!”

“What?” Kakashi asked.

“Aaaaahhhhh!” Naruto screamed.

Naruto grabbed his blond hair and screamed as loud as he could. He slammed himself onto the pavement of the bridge, shutting his eyes as tightly as possible. Naruto was pressing his body as hard as possibly against the stony surface of the bridge as he began sobbing.

“Pleeeeaaaasssse Kakashi-sensei…” he cried. “Make it stop!”

“Naruto,” his sensei said, full of anger and spite. “What’s gotten into you?”

“The demon in me…” Naruto said in between sobs. “He won’t stop! He won’t stop telling me to kill all of you! And-and what’s worse…I’m beginning to agree with him!”

He had to control himself to keep speaking.

“And…” he said. “I-I’m beginning to agree with him! I’m beginning to agree I’m a god and you’re all just mortals for me to crush like insects! Wh-What’s going on?!”

He looked up at Kakashi who only looked down at him with a mix of pity and hatred.

Why do I bow to this meager worm? Naruto thought. As one who can so easily transcend the mortal plane, I can go outside the limits of time. To show subservience to a human like this is–wait, what am I thinking? Stop it!

“It’s started,” he said.

“What has?” Naruto asked.

“The degradation of your mind,” Kakashi said. “You see, Naruto, it begins when a jinchuriki of the nine-tails gives into its power. Once you merge with the nine-tails, even bearing just one tail, your mind becomes that much more melded with the beast. The more one transforms, the more the line between your being and the nine-tails’ blurs. Use it enough and there will be no difference between you two.”

“No!” Naruto shouted. “No! Please…please Kakashi-sensei…!”

The anger within him became too much to ignore.

“Don’t look down upon me,” he said. “Insect. You should be bowing to me-”

His defiance was quickly stopped by a quick kick to the jaw. Naruto fell back as he gripped his jaw, looking up at a stoic Kakashi. His one-eyed glare felt hot and burning.

“Get up, you runt,” he said. “Mental control is the only way to ward off the demon’s influence, now. Grow a thicker skin, brat.”

Naruto obeyed, quickly standing up. He shivered in fright under the watchful eye of his sensei. Haku looked as though she had given up all hope of living at this point, her gaze so hopeless. All Naruto could do was look at her in sorrow. He had to remind himself of what Zabuza said.

It’s selfish to abandon your nation just because of your moral convictions. He thought. You have to choose between yourself and your country and if I want to be Hokage…I have to choose Konoha.

“Copy Ninja!” came a voice.

They both turned to see Gato coming their way. He looked mighty angry as he waved his cane in the air, almost as if to hit them. He stopped a few feet away from Kakashi and looked squarely at him, ignoring Naruto completely.

“I didn’t come here to nearly be killed by the very thugs I wanted dead!” Gato shouted. “You haven’t fulfilled your end of the bargain!”

“Calm down,” Kakashi said. “We just killed Zabuza. My young ninja couldn’t do anything more until he was taken care of.”

The crime lord shook his head furiously.

“I don’t care for your excuses,” Gato seethed. “All I want is Tazuna dead. You hear me?! Dead! You hear me?! I don’t care if you’ve killed the entire Hidden Mist’s army! If that bridgemaker isn’t in a wooden box you get no money! DO. YOU. UNDER. STAND?!”

Kakashi looked at Gato very defeated. Naruto had never seen his sensei this way before. Kakashi, possibly the strongest jonin in the Leaf Village and one of the greatest living ninja, was being talked down to by a man maybe half as tall as him. A man who couldn’t even mould chakra and Kakashi could kill with taijutsu alone. It was demeaning for someone of the jonin’s stature. But it just reminded Naruto of what he had read in the books Jiraiya gave him.

The crime lord Gato is not to be questioned nor killed. A textbook on crime read. Only the most desperate do so. When a crime lord of Gato’s stature is killed, anyone even remotely involved dies. As powerful as shinobi villages are, they are rivaled in power by the power of criminal groups. To bring the wrath of their associates upon a nation is forbidden.

An evil thought wormed its way into his mind.

I could be like that. He thought. If I wasn’t so afraid of using the nine-tails’s power that is. I could rule this world and–stop! Stop thinking that way!

“Fine,” Kakashi said. “But please…give Sasuke medical treatment. He’ll need some after saving your life.”

“Any expense I make will come out of your reward,” Gato said, pointing his cane at Kakashi. “Remember that, Copy Ninja.”

He then turned and walked over to where Sasuke was struggling in pain. Naruto took note of how he made no attempt at hurrying over. Naruto couldn’t imagine treating someone who had just saved his life with such negligence. He would have done everything he could to offer assistance to his savior.

Kakashi threw Haku to the ground, the female ninja grunting in pain as she hit the pavement. The jonin quickly performed a mi hand sign and a small portion of his chakra layer separated from him to bind around Haku’s legs. Now she could no longer walk.

“Come on, Naruto,” Kakashi said. “We have to find Tazuna. Before he’s too far away to get to.”

“What about the others?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi slapped him at the question. Naruto grabbed his jaw, knowing he purposefully hit him where he kicked him a minute ago. It was obvious Kakashi was on edge.

“Sakura, our medic, is dead,” he said. “Sasuke’s out of commission for the rest of the day since he used the Mangekyo Sharingan and Hinata…I think it’s pretty clear Hinata can no longer fight. Her father disowned her for being too soft and…and I think he was right.”

“So what do we do?” Naruto asked as he rubbed his check.

“This,” Kakashi said as he grabbed his forehead protector that hid his right eye.

He lifted it as well as the eyepatch to reveal a three tomoe Sharingan. Immediately, Kakashi lost nearly half a foot chakra but his total chakra radius expanded to more than four feet in radius. Naruto was impressed to see this was not fake.

“A-A-!” Naruto said. “A Sharingan! Kakahi-sensei…! How…are you-?!”

“That’s not important,” he said.

Kakashi performed a few hand seals, mostly the tora, mi and I hand seals before more than two feet of his chakra separated from him. With half his chakra, Kakashi formed a magnifying glass the size of an infant human. It was bluish-white in color, save for the transparent glass piece. As Kakashi looked through it as the image of Tazuna the bridgemaker appeared in the glass portion.

“The Finding Glass no Jutsu,” Naruto said. “It allows you to search for anyone you’ve seen in recent memory.”

“But the further you travel looking for that person,” Kakashi said. “The more chakra one will use up since it actively consumes chakra. Naruto…I’m going to need you to help me. Using my Sharingan drains me…drains me about as much as Sasuke using his Mangekyo.”

“How did you know about Sasuke having the-?” he asked.

“No time,” Kakashi said. “Let’s find a boat and get gone.”

“I think I know where they might have headed,” Naruto said. “To make a long story short, I think I saw the direction.”

“Good,” Kakashi said. “You might prove yourself useful after all.”